Ex-Fugitive Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Fraud

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A Missouri doctor who spent a dozen years on the run from federal fraud charges in Illinois before being captured in Peru has been ordered to spend three years and a month in prison.

A judge in East St. Louis, Illinois also sentenced 65-year-old Doctor Juan Rios on Friday to $320,000 in fines and restitution.

Rios lived in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, Missouri. He pleaded guilty in September to three counts of mail fraud and one count apiece of health care fraud and failing to appear in court.

The native Peruvian had medical offices in Collinsville and Bethalto when he admitted defrauding several insurance companies of more than $400,000. Authorities say he pocketed more than $250,000 in fraudulent disability payments while he still worked.